Why is taking the consequences for something "facing the music"?
This expression almost sounds like the name of a quiz show, but what it describes is hardly entertaining. When you face the music you've either done something wrong and now have to "pay" for it, or you've made a tough decision that will result in some negative consequences for you. Either way, you're not headed for an evening of dining and dancing.
The phrase originates in a military tradition. You've probably seen a soldier in the movies "drummed out" of the service. He's done something dishonorable so he's stripped of his rank and has to pass through columns of other soldiers who may look away from him while drum beats mark his passage through the ranks. The drums are the music he's facing and the source of the phrase.
This expression almost sounds like the name of a quiz show, but what it describes is hardly entertaining. When you face the music you've either done something wrong and now have to "pay" for it, or you've made a tough decision that will result in some negative consequences for you. Either way, you're not headed for an evening of dining and dancing.
The phrase originates in a military tradition. You've probably seen a soldier in the movies "drummed out" of the service. He's done something dishonorable so he's stripped of his rank and has to pass through columns of other soldiers who may look away from him while drum beats mark his passage through the ranks. The drums are the music he's facing and the source of the phrase.
